IPL auction rules explained: How many players can a franchise retain? What is the total purse for each team?

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) finally ended the suspense surrounding the player retention rules in the Indian Premier League (IPL) ahead of this year’s mega auction with a landmark announcement late on Saturday .

The BCCI had conducted a meeting with the owners and representatives of the 10 IPL franchises at its Mumbai headquarters in July in which various issues had been discussed, ranging from the number of players a team can retain to that of the ‘Impact Player’ rule.

A couple of franchises had expressed concern over players withdrawing at the start of the season despite being picked in the auction, a move that has drawn the ire of a number of team owners over the years.

The board also decided to drop a little gift for players by announcing match fees that will be separate from the amount mentioned in their contracts.

The player regulations unveiled by the BCCI on Saturday will be in place for three seasons between 2025 to 2027.

Here’s everything you need to know about BCCI’s announcement and what it means for the IPL:

How many players can a team retain ahead of this year’s mega auction?

Franchises will be able to retain a maximum of six players ahead of this year’s IPL mega auction — either through retention or through Right to Match. The IPL Governing Council has left it to the individual franchises to decide the combination of retentions and RTMs.

The franchises, however, can have a maximum of five capped players out of six — both Indian as well as overseas — along with a maximum of two uncapped players.

What is the total purse set by the BCCI for the IPL mega auction this year?

The total auction purse set by the BCCI for the IPL mega auction stands at Rs 120 crore per franchise.

According to ESPNCricinfo, the retention slabs have been set in the following manner for capped players:

First three retentions — Rs 18 crore, Rs 14 crore, Rs 11 crore

Remaining two — Rs 18 crore and Rs 14 crore.

Franchises thus can spend a maximum of Rs 75 crore on retaining capped players. As for uncapped players, the retention price remains Rs 4 crore.

So if a franchise decides to enter the mega auction with six retentions including five capped players, they’ll be left with Rs 41 crore in their purse.

The total salary cap, which consists of the auction purse along with incremental performance pay and match fees, was Rs 110 crore for the 2024 season and will rise to Rs 146 crore in 2025. The same amount will be hiked to Rs 151 crore in 2026 and Rs 157 crore in 2027.

What are the match fees introduced by the BCCI and how much will players earn?

The BCCI also decided to present players with a little gift ahead of the mega auction with the introduction of match fees , which will be separate from the amount at which a player is bought by a franchise.

The board has set a match fee of Rs 7.5 lakh for each player, meaning an individual could end up pocketing an extra Rs 1.05 crore for featuring in all 14 matches in a season even if they don’t progress to the playoffs.

“Each franchise will allocate INR 12.60 crores as match fees for the season! This is a new era for the #IPL and our players!” BCCI secretary Jay Shah had written in a post on X on Saturday while announcing the decision.

What happens if a player pulls out ahead of an IPL season?

Franchises have complained against players pulling out at the start of the season after being bought in the player auction, and the same was discussed in the meeting between the board and the team owners at the BCCI headquarters in July.

According to the player regulations unveiled by the BCCI, a player who registers for the auction and subsequently gets picked by a franchise but chooses to make himself unavailable at the start of the season will be banned from participating in the tournament or in the auction for a period of two seasons.

What’s the IPL uncapped player rule that the BCCI has brought back and how does it help CSK?

The BCCI also decided to bring back a rule that had been in place for several years starting from the inaugural season only to be discarded recently.

In the said rule, a capped player becomes uncapped if he has been retired from international cricket for more than five years preceding the year in which the relevant season is held. Said player is required to not have either featured in the playing XI of an international match nor had a Central Contract with the BCCI.

Ahead of this year’s mega auction, the only name that has been doing the rounds on social media in this context is MS Dhoni.

The former Chennai Super Kings captain had made his last international appearance in the semi-final of the 2019 ICC World Cup against New Zealand in Manchester, announcing his retirement on Independence Day 2020, and thus qualifies as an uncapped player under the rule.

Dhoni had reportedly indicated he didn’t want to take up a large chunk of the franchise’s auction purse, because of which the new ruling comes as a boon for the five-time champions.

What happens to the Impact Player rule?

The future of the ‘Impact Player’ rule was also discussed during the meeting at the BCCI headquarters. The team owners were divided over the issue, with some supporting it and others calling for it to be scrapped.

Among those who had voiced against the rule was India skipper Rohit Sharma, who felt the existence of the rule hindered the development of all-rounders, especially in Indian cricket.

The BCCI, however, has decided to continue with the rule till the 2027 season, following which a fresh round of discussions will be held over its future.